To catch you up, Thanksgiving and Christmas were fun. My brother, sister-in-law and their three children came to visit. Adding their three with my four ratcheted up the activity/noise level by about 100 or so. But the cousins had so much fun playing and exploring at the ranch. Plus my nephew was happy to be with boy cousins for a change.
DS1 has been preoccupied with rehearsal for the one-act play. He has one of the lead roles. But he took time to head to the movies twice with friends during the holiday break. He used to be my anti-social child, so it's nice to see him hanging out with friends. Oh, and he won the spelling bee at his middle school! So it's off to the city bee for him!
DS2 just took the SAT as part of the Duke TIP program. It's a wonderful opportunity to get a sneak peek at the exam while he's a 7th grader, and it may lead to scholarship or other educational opportunities.
DS3 participated in the 3rd grade Christmas program at his school. They sang 5 songs, then for the last number, several of the children (including DS3) danced on stage. Oh my, it was hysterical. He is quite theatrical and obviously not shy at all!
DS4 is just a joy to watch grow up! His vocabulary is expanding daily. He told me the other day that flies "are disgusting." Big word for a little boy! Here he is swinging at the ranch:
Me? I've been trying to finish up some projects. I stayed up until 3am on Christmas Eve to complete DS4's stocking. The blanket for my sister is just about complete, just have to weave in the ends (ugh). I've already started two more blankets, one for the primos and one for my mom (and no, DS3's bookbag is not yet complete -- actually I can't find it right now, although I think I know where it might be.)
Oh, and my parents hosted an exchange student last year. Marina is from Germany, speaks 4 languages and is a sweet, engaging, and bright young lady. Sadly, she left to go home last week (she was afraid she would be behind in her senior year if she spent her entire junior year here). Plus, I'm sure she missed her family terribly. Here she is with the boys:
We miss her already, but now we are thinking of taking a summer trip to Germany to visit Marina and her family. That would be fun!
